‘Green’ effort causes schools to go paperless to promote events

By eSchool News

January 9th, 2009

Schools have long relied on one emissary to deliver paperwork into parents’ hands: students’ backpacks. But driven by environmental and economic concerns, many schools now are posting notices online instead, reports the Chicago Tribune. Libertyville Elementary School District 70 switched to paperless fliers when students returned to class Jan. 5, continuing an effort that began last year with the debut of electronic school newsletters. Officials of the north suburban district expect they may reach more parents of their roughly 2,650 students with the new distribution channel. "We’d look at lockers in June and find fliers from September and October. It was just a tough sell to get kids to get all this stuff home," said Libertyville Supt. Mark Friedman. "Here we know parents will at least have the option of seeing it."?Libertyville joins a growing number of suburban districts that recently made the switch. Northwest suburban Kildeer Countryside School District 96 in August moved both the weekly school newsletter and various notices online. And Naperville District 203 instituted its paperless flier policy in August. School bags now are reserved for homework and school news in keeping with the district’s "take back the backpack" campaign, said spokeswoman Melea Smith. "When your kid comes home, you don’t want to lose important papers amid all the fliers with people trying to get your attention," Smith said. "What the kids are carrying back and forth should be academic related."